A clear indication of EDP’s actual trading has become clear as the company announced that that, in the year to September, the EDP Group has made €297 million, down 74% on 2017. The business in Portugal is making a loss for the first time since privatisation.
EDP, led by António Mexia, now has to get along without hundreds of millions in support payments from taxpayers under the 'Custos para a Manutenção do Equilíbrio Contratual' (CMEC) payments system, set up when the business was sold by the State to private investors .
Mexia said that the EDP group is expected to close 2018 with a profit between €500 and €600 million, ‘penalised’ by a lack of free taxpayer money that will reduce 2018 profits by €319 million.
Luckily, EDP’s international activity represents 84% of the net result with its domestic business shattered by the withdrawal of the CMEC payment.
In a statement to the market, EDP explained that the news from the government, that EDP had received €285 million in ‘overcompensation,’ changes "EDP Group's expectation of consolidated net profit in 2018," but Mexia said he would maintain dividends to shareholders.
In an historic announcement, the company stated that "net result will, for the first time since the privatisation of EDP, show a loss in its activity in Portugal."
